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Nationalism Lecture 9: Nationalism before, during and after Communism

Nationalism Lecture 9: Nationalism before, during and after Communism. Prof. Lars-Erik Cederman Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) Seilergraben 49, Room G.2 lcederman@ethz.ch http://www.icr.ethz.ch/teaching/nationalism

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Nationalism Lecture 9: Nationalism before, during and after Communism

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  1. NationalismLecture 9: Nationalism before, during and after Communism Prof. Lars-Erik Cederman Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) Seilergraben 49, Room G.2 lcederman@ethz.ch http://www.icr.ethz.ch/teaching/nationalism Assistant: Kimberly Sims, CIS, Room E 3, k-sims@northwestern.edu

  2. Nationalism after the end of the Cold War • Historical overview: Russian / Soviet case • Explanations of the Soviet Collapse • Post-communist nationalism in Eastern Europe • Post-communist nationalism in the former Soviet Union

  3. Europe on the eve of WWI: Before the collapse of the Russian Empire

  4. Tsarist Empire • Backward, pre-modern empire • Thin, cosmopolitan elite on top of unfree peasant masses • Recurrent conflict with neighbors ==> Absolutism • Conquest and “colonization” of East • Some late attempts to modernize, in terms of “Russification”

  5. The Birth of the Soviet Union • Defeat in Russo-Japanese war and WWI • Imperial collapse and civil war 1918-20 • Bolsheviks victorious • Lenin’s nationality policy compromise: • “self-determination” instead of “prison of nations” • but long-term goal: nations and classes fading

  6. Europe in 1925 after the creation of the USSR Colonialism

  7. Stalin’s repression • Stalin shifts policy toward repression • Paranoia and extreme centralization imply Russification • Massive purges of opposition, including nationalist leaders • “Man-made” starvation in Ukraine • WWII: explicit use of nationalism: “socialism in one country”

  8. The post-WWII world: the Soviets establish their East European Empire

  9. The Nationalities in the Post-WWII Period • Stalin’s death in 1953 leads to less repressive nationality policy • Khrushchev tries to modernize • Brezhnev cements cultural autonomy • The economy stagnates • Little cultural convergence

  10. Gorbachev takes over • In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev is elected General Secretary of the Communist Party • Tries to counter crisis with economic reforms but a more radical political transformation needed: • Perestroika • Glasnost • New foreign policy

  11. Nationalist trouble • Unanticipated consequences of mobilization • Nationalist conflict: • riots in Kazakhstan in 1986 • first large demonstrations in Baltic Republics and Armenia in 1988 • Azeri-Armenian conflict in 1988 • bloody clash in Georgia in 1989 • Eastern European revolutions in 1989 • crackdown in the Baltic region in 1990 • Russian nationalist opposition under Yeltsin

  12. The collapse of the USSR • Failed coup attempt in August 1991 • Yeltsin emerges as hero • Gorbachev sidelined and isolated • December, establishment of Commonwealth of Independent States, Gorbachev resigns

  13. Post-Cold War Europe after the collapse of the USSR, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia (Germany reunified) Collapse of Soviet Empire Breakup of Czechoslovakia Collapse of Yugoslavia

  14. Explanations • External • “Rambo” story • Western peace movements • Metropolitan • “Gorby did it!” • Peripheral • Heroic nationalities

  15. A more refined picture New foreign policy Collapse ofWarsaw Pact Reagan’s buildup Economic stagnation Gorbachev’s Reforms Sub- nationalism Collapse of the USSR War in Afghanistan Command economy

  16. A comparison with the colonial case • Marxist-Leninism and modernization theory are both materialist theories of development • External threats and internal obstacles • Imperial policies were self-defeating: • Perestroika: provocation, vacuum, no force • Glasnost: visibility of nationalism, demonstration effects, communication

  17. Institutional factors, cont’d • Imperialist legacy: National federalism institutionalized national identities and created state frameworks • Different treatment of nationalities: • Ukraine: “Most-favored-lord” status • Baltic Republics and Georgia: Autonomy but few chances to advance beyond republics • Central Asia: Colonial pattern

  18. Post-Communist Eastern Europe • Schöpflin: essentialist pessimism • Historical pattern: ethnic nationalism • Vacuum, weak civil society, irredentism, ethnic resurgence • Hroch: constructivist optimism • Against “fridge theory” • Similarities: vacuum, poor civic education, new minorities • But difference: speed, economy, communications but European integration

  19. Post-communist nationalism in the former Soviet Union • No break-up of Russia! • Russia ethnically fragmented (21 republics) • Exception Chechnya • Explanations: • Cultural cohesion? • Political repression? • Economic factors? • Selective fiscal appeasement • The “near abroad” relatively calm too!

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